McHenry VFW Post 4600 has announced a drawdown date for the multimillion dollar Queen of Hearts Raffle.

The club will host its usual weekly Queen of Hearts raffle at 8 p.m. Tuesday. If no one wins, a drawdown will occur the next week, 8 p.m. Sept. 18, according to the VFW.

A drawdown means the club will pick a winning ticket and pull a card as usual. If the card chosen isn’t the Queen of Hearts, the process will repeat with a different winning raffle ticket and corresponding card, said VFW Cmdr. Dwane Lungren.

“We keep pulling until we find a winner,” Lungren said. “Each person picked will have a chance.”

The Queen of Hearts game has prompted crowds to fill the McHenry bar throughout the week to buy tickets and on Tuesday nights for the drawing. The game has been running for more than a year and the jackpot is at $6,077,599.

Lungren estimated the pot could reach nearly $7 million by Sept. 18 if no winner emerges Tuesday. The VFW is at 3002 W. Route 120.

If the Queen of Hearts is chosen Tuesday, the winner will get 60 percent of the pot, which is about $2.4 million after state and federal taxes.

Another 20 percent of the pot will go back to the VFW, and the final 20 percent will go to starting the next pot, which the VFW announced will start Jan. 8.

Lungren cited traffic and safety concerns and a stressed staff as reasons behind the decision, which VFW officials coordinated with the McHenry Police Department.

Police have been providing traffic control and patrol services for the VFW and the McHenry City Council has raised its raffle limits ordinance four times to accommodate the game. The pot could get to $10 million with a
$6 million payout limit under the current regulation, although City Council members have expressed concern about the fast-growing game.

Overflow parking will be established both Tuesday and Sept. 18 as needed. Spaces will be available on the south side of the 3000 block of Route 120, directly across from the VFW. Two additional parking areas also will be established off Adams Drive and Barney Court, directly east of the VFW. These overflow parking lots will be clearly marked with signs reading “Queen of Hearts Parking,” according to the VFW.

A designated area to cross Route 120 will be established by the McHenry Police Department. All customers are asked to cross Route 120 in the designated crossing area, according to the VFW.